Chapter 11 - Exile
Lately, Munkustrap had been staying around the Jellicle Junkyard more than staying with his human family. The twins had been worked up about something, and he felt it his obligation as the tribe protector to keep an eye on things. But that night, Munkustrap's head seemed to be floating, as he had spent many sleepless nights watching the tribe. It wasn't easy to protect someone, let alone an entire tribe of cats, and he was dead tired. So when his ear caught the sound of two cats caterwauling, in what was surely a fight, his mind quickly convinced itself that it was something outside of the junkyard. And with that, he curled up, closed his eyes, and drifted off to sleep.
Demeter stayed close to her sister's heels as they ran away from the horrible sight. As the black and gold kitten trembled, her sister seemed at a loss for words. After the red queen shook her head, she grabbed her sister's shoulders, and swung Demeter around. Shaking her once to get her to focus on what she had to say, she ordered, "I'll go find Old Deuteronomy. You go find Munkustrap."
Demeter shook her head. "I don't want to go alone."
"He's in the junkyard," the red queen reminded her. "You'll be fine. Check his den. And hurry." Bombalurina waited as her sister tried to grasp the instructions she was given. Then, she watched the gold queen stumble as she somehow found her footing and raced to find the silver tabby.
Someway, with only instinct guiding her, she raced through the junkyard to where she hoped to find the tabby. Any sound of shifting or settling rubble made her jump, shiver, and run more fervently. Her breath seemed to escape from her lungs with each pounding step. Why did his den seem so far?
Racing up the pile of junk she was somewhat familiar with, Demeter exploded into the den, causing Munkustrap to start, before getting up, dazed, staring at the queen in front of him. After taking in the queen and realizing he truly was awake for all this, the silver cat reached out a paw to her.
With the invitation, the frightened queen grasped onto Munkustrap and buried her face into his fur, her panting turning into barely audible sobs. "Demeter? What is it? What happened?" Demeter just made a squeaky sound as though her voice was trying to forms words and suppress a scream at the same time. She was trembling so much. "What's wrong?" he asked soothingly. But she shook her head, unable to speak at the moment. So the tom gave in to simply comforting the young, frightened kitten.
Bombalurina raced through the streets she hadn't fully learned yet. But tonight, her subconscious seemed to guide her paws to the Vicarage Wall without fail. Once she realized where she was, she took a moment to marvel at her instincts at a time of panic. Old Deuteronomy was asleep on the wall, the church steeple visible in the background for her vantage point. She opened her mouth to call up to him, but her voice failed her momentarily. She composed herself before trying again. "Old Deuteronomy," she whispered, hardly audible.
Yet somehow, he heard the young cat, and Old Deuteronomy looked down at the frightened queen. Without a word, the aging cat jumped down from the Vicarage wall, and Bombalurina grabbed his paw and lead him as carefully as she could, as quickly as she could. The junkyard seemed so far away…
It was morning when Old Deuteronomy arrived there. He assessed the situation, and warned the older cats to keep the kittens away from one particular part of the junkyard. Skimbleshanks went to check out the scene described to them by their leader, who had heard it from two scared and tired sisters. The sight itself proved to be too much for the older cat to see in their Jellicle junkyard. When Jennyanydots came with Jellylorum to see the sight for themselves, Skimbleshanks quickly held out a paw, stopping the two queens in their tracks before shaking his head. "You don't want to see this. Let Deuteronomy take care of it."
The two queens obeyed the tom, deciding instead to go check on the kittens. Skimbleshanks turned his gaze back to the sight.
A kitten, probably no older than Mistoffelees or Demeter, was lying nearly dead at the entrance of the junkyard. It was definitely the work of a cat. While the old orange and brown cat was sure the two sisters were somewhere safe (and hopefully sleeping after their ordeal,) he knew they would never forget the vision of what took place before them.
Old Deuteronomy was with the kitten. It was a sight he had never hoped to see in his junkyard. It seemed the blood stained the entire tribe. He shook his head, before leaning down to assess the damage. The kitten's breathing seemed so shallow.
When Munkustrap raced up to Skimbleshanks' side, agitated from no sleep and too much adrenaline, he skidded to a stop and silently watched as Old Deuteronomy picked up the nameless kitten. It gave off a soft meow in protest, before Old Deuteronomy carried him outside of the junkyard, then out of sight. "Where is he going?" Munkustrap managed to ask.
"To take him to the vet, I believe," Skimbleshanks said, staring at the spot the kitten had lain before. "It's too much for Jenny to take care of, and she wouldn't know where to begin. That sight would horrify her." Skimbleshanks sighed. "It doesn't look good."
Munkustrap managed to nod his head, still shocked from the sight. He had never seen such a thing in his life. "Who did this?" he asked numbly.
Skimbleshanks looked over to Munkustrap, a grim look on his face. "It was Macavity."
Somehow, Demeter and Bombalurina ended up in the area where the old tire was, where Old Deuteronomy sat, surrounded by the other adult cats. They couldn't remember getting there, as that had seemed a blur. But Demeter distinctly remembers her friend leading her and her sister to the site. And now that they were there, slightly hidden from the proceedings, Munkustrap had an arm around her, and she realized she was purring. She only stopped when she saw Bombalurina was leaning against the silver tabby as well, and remembered the situation they were in. Then her eyes fell on him.
She looked over the ginger cat she never really knew. The one she had been a fool to befriend. The one she never knew could be so cruel. As Macavity looked up at the Jellicle leader, looking more annoyed to be caught than sorry for what he did, Demeter shivered at the memories and clung tightly to the silver tabby.
Jennyanydots seemed to appear out of nowhere (from Demeter's vantage point against Munkustrap), and placed a paw on gold and black queen's forehead. She then went to check Bombalurina, who had a far off look on her face. "They're still in shock," she heard her mutter to Munkustrap. She then sat down, with the three, as she watched the proceedings.
Deuteronomy's voice came through in a very level tone, much to Demeter's surprise. "Macavity," he began. The cat simply raised an eyebrow to show he had heard him. "Would you like to explain what happened?"
Macavity shrugged. He had a look on his face as though he were trying to find a good answer. He then looked up with a stern expression. "I was trying to protect the tribe."
The other cats started to mutter their disapproval, but the tribe leader raised a paw to stop them. Obediently, they fell silent. "Would you care to explain?"
"Okay," Macavity said, raising his still bloody paws up to aid his explanation. "A cat came into the junkyard. I'd never seen it before, at least, and it didn't seem too friendly." Looking up momentarily to see all the cats staring at him, he twitched his ears and seemed to fluster momentarily. "He was vicious," he assured them. "He tried to attack Demeter and Bombalurina. What did you want me to do, let him hurt them? It's not my fault he couldn't defend himself…" He broke off after that. He seemed to shrink down slightly as the other cats glared at him. He wasn't used to this kind of attention.
Demeter made a move to get up, but Munkustrap absentmindedly pulled her back to where she was. Bombalurina seemed to hiccup. The gold queen moved again, more determined this time, and Munkustrap, brought back to earth, let her go to her sister. Bombalurina gave a start as Demeter touched her arm, but when she saw her sister, put an arm around her, and brought her close in a hug.
"Bombalurina," the old cat asked. Demeter could hear her sisters' heart rate quicken. But Old Deuteronomy spoke with a gentle voice to her. "Can you tell me what happened?"
Now it was Demeter's job to nuzzle her sister for encouragement. Bombalurina took a shaky breath. Staring at the ground in front of her, she managed to speak. "The other cat did attack us, yes. He was really strong. But Macavity…!" Bombalurina went silent as her sight shifted to the cat that glared at her. This time, Munkustrap put a paw on the red queen's shoulder. Bombalurina shifted her eyes to the protective cat beside her, who she only now realized she was leaning against.
"He fought him like a cat possessed," she continued. "Even when the cat turned to run, he wouldn't let him go…" Bombalurina couldn't go on. She let herself sink against the silver tabby. Demeter let out a sob and Jennyanydots took the kitten and hugged her in a motherly fashion.
"We begged him to stop," Demeter said, finally letting tears run down her cheeks. "And Bombie was going to make him stop, but I held her back. I thought he was going to kill her if she went in there. I thought that cat was dead…" Demeter chocked on her words and sobbed some more.
All the older cats looked at each other. Munkustrap looked at the two sisters in pity, before giving a dark look to Macavity. The ginger and red cat was now looking down at his paws.
Finally, Jellylorum spoke up. "He's far too violent for the tribe," she seemed to yell. "He's crossed a line, Deuteronomy. We don't know what he's capable of!"
"I was trying to protect them," Macavity said lowly.
"You went too far," Jennyanydots cried, hugging Demeter too tightly now. The kitten tried to pull away to catch her breath. "You should value the life of others!"
"Munkustrap fights all the time," Macavity stood fast.
At this, Munkustrap growled lowly, but Skimbleshanks spoke for him. "He's only exerted force to drive a menace away. There are limits, and he would not simply take another's life in his hands. What is wrong with you?" Skimbleshanks spat out, slamming his paw down on the trunk he was sitting on.
"I am much stronger than he will ever be," Macavity said in an uncharacteristically soft voice.
"Strength?" Admetus asked.
"What about compassion?" Jellylorum boomed. "You've been unpredictable since I can remember! You never quit doing your antics. I think you just became more skilled at not getting caught. Always amusing yourself in hurting others!" She then turned to Old Deuteronomy, her voice full of emotion. "He's more powerful than we can ever control. He's probably has powers we don't even understand, if he can get away with so much! No proof! That was the only reason he is still here." Others seemed to nod in agreement.
Demeter was far away as the others yelled their concerns and evidence against the ginger cat. For as they were saying all these things, Macavity seemed to have caught Demeter's gaze, and her thoughts fell silent for a moment. Then quite suddenly, she felt a need to defend the cat that had surely given her nightmares beyond what she could foresee. She felt the need to speak up for him rather than against him. And oh, how badly she felt for speaking against him to begin with! Demeter began to rise up, her mouth open to say something.
"Would you look at me when I'm talking to you?" Jellylorum spat. While the others continued their angry complaints, Old Deuteronomy's eyes shifted from Macavity to Demeter, and the concerned look in Bombalurina's eyes. Munkustrap was looking between the two, confused at Demeter's sudden change in demeanor.
As her mouth opened, it seemed clear what the gold and black kitten need say. 'He was in the right. He was protecting us. He should be the one in charge of protecting the tribe.' And quite suddenly, a hatred of Munkustrap filled her body.
But that wasn't right. She never hated Munkustrap! He had always been her friend, even when he didn't like who she accompanied herself with. Sure, they had their tiffs and fights now and then, but he was something constant in her life, no matter what. Why was she feeling like this? "Munkustrap," she managed a barely audible whisper, but that was enough to make the silver cat lunge forward. He grabbed Demeter by the shoulders and pulled her out of Macavity's line of sight. He hissed in the ginger cat's direction as he practically dragged the suddenly shocked queen around the corner. Bombalurina quickly followed.
That was enough for Old Deuteronomy. As he stood up, the room fell silent. Bombalurina hugged her sister protectively as Munkustrap stood at attention. Jennyanydots raced up to join Skimbleshanks on the trunk of the car. "What do you have to say for yourself?" the old cat asked.
"I don't see what I did that was so wrong. I didn't kill the damn thing. And I was just protecting the tribe." Macavity seemed to be resisting the need to roll his eyes.
"There is a line between protection and blood lust," Old Deuteronomy explained in an oddly calm voice. There were still stains on his bland and weathered coat from having held the unconscious kitten. Macavity hid his blood stained claws behind him. "You did not let the cat go after he had chosen to run, and instead decided to maul him beyond recognition."
"But now he won't bother us again," Macavity reasoned. The other cats gasped at his disdain for the life he nearly took. The ginger cat seemed annoyed at their reaction, then annoyed with himself for having said what he did.
Old Deuteronomy shook his head wearily. "I feel sorry for you. You know so much and care so little." Macavity sneered at the old cat in front of him. Old Deuteronomy sat back down, an odd sense of déjà vu spreading over him and surely his grandson as well.
"You should leave," Old Deuteronomy said wearily. "Now. You're exiled from this tribe. You are not to contact any members of the Jellicles, and do not attempt to come back."
Macavity, for once, was aghast. He didn't believe what he was hearing. "For what!" he yelled, enraged. "For protecting the family?" The other cats looked down on him with a very satisfied look on their faces. Growling, Macavity turned to storm out of the junkyard. He then stopped to consider his movements. Suddenly, he decided to take the long way out…
He raced over to where Munkustrap had hid the two sisters. Snapping his jaws at them, Demeter and Bombalurina jumped back before Munkustrap grabbed the blood-stained cat's shoulders and forcefully pushed him away from the queens. Macavity then turned on the tribe's protector and went to attack him.
All the other cats jumped to their feet, shocked that Macavity would dare go after Munkustrap in front of their very eyes. "NOO!" Demeter screamed as the memory of the kitten was still fresh in her mind. But the other cats jumped down, and stood at attention. With so much backing behind his brother, Macavity backed down from a fight. Munkustrap hissed and growled lowly at the other, the one he would gladly not have to face anymore.
Macavity composed himself, growling slightly in frustration. He then hissed at the tribe before running away. Munkustrap looked to the two sisters quickly to make sure they were okay, before racing after Macavity. "Alonzo," he called to the cat that had to wait on the outskirts of the proceedings. The other cat, obviously confused as to why Munkustrap was now chasing down Macavity, followed as he was told to. They had to make sure Macavity left the junkyard for good.
Several of the older cats followed to make sure the two protectors would be okay. Old Deuteronomy, however, looked very weary and tired. Demeter nudged Bombalurina and nodded over to the old cat. Nodding to her sister, she joined Demeter as she climbed the tire to sit next to their leader. "Are you okay, Deuteronomy?" Demeter asked. But somehow she felt like a kitten asking if he had a 'boo-boo.
Bombalurina nuzzled the old cat. He smiled wearily to them, patting Demeter on the head. "I'm sorry you had to see what you saw," he told the two. The two queens leaned against the old cat, feeling just as tired as he looked.
When Munkustrap came back, no new scratches visible on his silver physique, Deuteronomy was quite awake, two exhausted queens sleeping against his fluffy coat.
Ultra special Blah blah blah:
Heh, I was sooo nervous about this chapter when I first got a review that said they loved my Macavity. I was like, "Oh, crap...They're going to hate me for this." I was tempted to call the chapter "The day the laughter died" as a joke. But nah, took away from the severity of it all. Please don't hate me! The story had to go this way!
Ice Goddess of Doomy Doom: Love that name, lol. And good, someone else loves Takaya-sensei! Hatori-san wa totemo sekushi desu ne? Kyo or Yuki? Kyo for me, personally. Anyways, wow, when I read your review, I burst out laughing. "Finish it or you die." Morbid much? I wouldn't want this story to go unfinished, anyways. I already have the framework up to chapter 25, and still going...is that too long for a story? Blah, anyways, I can't wait to get to this one part of the story, so see? Not much to worry about!
Please review, I worked really hard working up to and doing this chapter! (I kept changing things, and adding things, and tweaking things.) Thankies!